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Decorating a Pond With Water Lilies

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Water lilies are one of the most popular pond aquatics because they are colorful, easy to care for, and highly fragrant. Tropical water lilies come in day-blooming and night-blooming varieties. They have larger, more-fragrant blossoms than hardy lilies, come in more colors, and bloom more often — usually every day for the entire blooming season. In northern areas, they bloom later in the season. They can be placed in the water garden when the temperature reaches 65F at night and 75F during the day and grow best in 10 to 12 inches of water. Unless stored, they die when frost occurs. Most gardeners store them in a greenhouse pond over winter or treat them as annuals and replace them every year.

There are a great many types of water lily, from the huge, spectacular, Amazonian ones several feet across, to the more humble White water lily (Nymphaea alba) which is native to Britain They prefer perfectly still water, so vigorous fountains, waterfalls and streams are out. The main reason they prefer this is that rapid currents keep water temperatures too low.

To grow at their best, water lilies prefer to be in some kind or container, or basket, and grow in nice rich soil containing lots of organic matter. When you purchase your water lilies from the nursery, they should come complete with the necessary plastic slitted growing basket. If not, these are readily available from most garden centers, or water garden specialists. These containers are especially useful as they will float and still contain the necessary rich compost.

However the most glorious water lilies are the tropical and hardy varieties. One plant will multiply to blanket an area of four to six feet. They are exceptional because they bloom both day and night.

Lilies should be planted in pots at least 10″ in diameter. Follow this advice because the smaller your container, the smaller your blossoms will be.

Before submersing the tuber in the pond, fill a play or plastic pot half full of loam garden soil (if it is not already sold to you in a pot) and two to four fertilizer tablets (also usually sold with the plant.) Top off the pot with the rest of the soil. Set the tuber upright, with the tip exposed. It is the roots that need to be buried in the soil.

Once you have set the tuber correctly, sprinkle an inch or two of pea gravel or sand on top to prevent soil from escaping when the pot is submerged. Be careful not cover the top of the tuber with this gravel or sand or it won’t grow.

The plant can now be lowered into the water to a depth of approximately 6 inches over the crown of the water lily. As the plant grows, it can be lowered to a depth of 12 inches.

How to Decorate Historical Homes With Vintage Lighting

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If you have bought a historical home then the best way to showcase it is with vintage light fixtures. These fixtures indirectly highlight the nooks, crannies and architectural details of your heritage style house the same way candlelight would. Remember it is only eighty years ago that most homes started to adopt electricity. Before that lamps burned wax or gas.

The lighting fixtures that might be most appropriate for a historical home are probably going to be a pendant style and the shades area going to be made of glass, metal or porcelain as this is what kept the candle flames in check. Consider getting a large fancy painted globe for the larger rooms like the living room and fit them with incandescent bulbs to mimic the warm yellow soft light of gas or candlelight. In fact, a custom painted globe was a common gift for the newlyweds at the turn of the century.

If your house’s heyday was during the time of gas lighting then you might want to choose fixtures that mimic the look of a gas lamp. These would be fixtures that extend quite a ways from the wall if they are sconces and quite far down from the ceiling if it is a chandelier. These fixtures looked like storm lamps and the shades were always sitting up right light cups. It wasn’t until the advent of the electric light bulb that the shade could be designed to point downwards. One way to date a lighting fixture in fact is to look at which way the shades are positions and if they are cups, they suit older houses, and if they point downwards, then they suit a newer home.

The invention of electricity brought a boon to home design between 1890 and 1920. This was called the Arts and Crafts movement and all kinds of glass and metal shades were invented to house the new light bulb. So if your house was built during that time then Tiffany or glass lampshades might look best.

After World War I Art Deco designs took over and the glass light bulb casing became etched and sculpted into zig zag, crescent and sunburst shapes. If your house was built in the 1920s to 1940s Art Deco light fixtures might look fantastic in it.

If you do find an antique light fixture dated before 1920 there is one very important thing to remember. You cannot use light bulbs that are stronger than 15 watts in it or you could cause a fire. If the light fixture is an antique from 1920s onward then stay safe and only use a 40-watt bulb. Lamps that could safely take a 100-watt bulb did not appear until the early sixties and even then you should check the antique fixture carefully to see if instructions about what wattage the lamp should be fitted with are written on it somewhere. Of course one way to avoid all of this fuss would be to simply buy a retro recreation of the style that you want so that you can use whatever type of light bulb that you like.